- Dahlia's POV -
"Commander, you called me?"
It's not even 5 pm yet, but I've been called here. It's too early for a nocturnal person like me... I haven't even had breakfast yet.
"Sorry to call you at this hour. We're having a problem."
"Did something happen?"
The commander told me about the appearance of monsters in area 5, around North Gyeongsang.
Since the place was in ruins and has been almost completely abandoned, we've been trying to reconstruct the area we've bought, but because the previous Guard Tower malfunctioned, we only got the news this morning.
*****
"It seems like the density of magis energy there is quite high, so don't forget to bring the magis resistance serum."
"Okay. When are we leaving?"
"It's still 5 am, we'll leave at 6 or 7 am. Let's prepare our necessities first. You might also need to rest a bit because of the previous morning's event."
"I could actually rest on the way, but making sure I'm in prime condition for this mission seems necessary."
After that, Leo and I went to prepare the team's needs, then had breakfast with Karen's cooking. Although she looks tomboyish, Karen is 'quite' good at cooking.
The dishes she prepares always look appetizing and healthy... Even though almost all the ingredients he uses are semi-finished. And when it comes to taste, there is no need to ask. It is a taste that is rarely found in other places.
It was delicious, just that, no more and no less. For some people, it might feel a little bland. Even Leo, whose cooking was often seen, could be better than this.
We had suggested Karen add seasoning, but the result actually made the taste unclear.
It was my fault for giving most of the housework to her, because she was a girl.
*****
After we arrived at the location, we immediately met the contractor there and asked what happened.
They said that monsters had appeared there for a long time, and were quite confident with the protection of several guards stationed. It seemed like they hadn't realized about the strong monsters that had appeared.
"I've heard some stories about the Dragon Claw team, I'm sure we'll be fine if you're here."
Dragon Claw is the name of our team, but he probably meant the seniors from the previous Dragon Claw team... It seems like there are more people who don't know that I'm the team leader.
"Karen, Leo, did you find anything?"
"Yes. A guard said that he heard heavy movements from something passing behind him several times."
"I've met with the person in charge of this project. One of their people has been reported missing. I think it has something to do with the creature Karen mentioned."
"So they're hiding this from the other workers. Maybe so as not to cause unrest. Let's investigate this creature first."
We went to every place Leo had told us about, and looked for any clues we could use.
It was quite difficult at first, but after we checked a few places, we soon found the clues left behind became clearer.
"Some of the footprints overlapped, and the distance between the others was too different... This isn't a monster that walks on two legs."
"There are fairly straight tail drag marks along the path, and the locations where it's located always have slightly damaged walls at every turn... Like it can only run straight." Leo said.
"Every single sign shows damage, and they also mentioned a heavy sound, which means it's a big, strong monster." Karen said.
"Humungo."
Facing an unknown opponent is quite dangerous, so we're trying to figure out what kind of monster we're facing.
I've been tracking the monster's whereabouts since the beginning, and we also know where our target usually appears, so we immediately head to the place where the radar shows a strong signal.
We arrive at a, and below us is a dry river.
"Dahlia, are you sure about this? It'll be safer if Leo or I go down."
"It won't appear if the bait is too strong. It's okay, I can do it."
I slide down the bridge, and walk quietly, trying to lure our target.
Our opponent must be very large, probably a Humungo-ranked Beast. A monster whose strength surpasses mine several times.
Ah!.
When I felt something, I immediately turned my head and jumped away as soon as I saw something speeding towards me.
A giant lizard suddenly appeared from a hidden river path, and tried to pounce on me.
As I thought, it was very large. It was almost 4 meters tall and probably 9 meters long.
I activated my sword's ability, the pattern on the blade lit up, and lightning immediately enveloped it.
I attacked, and made the monster roar because of the lightning blade attack that hit its body.
The monster then retaliated by swinging its tail. I could see the direction of the trajectory, so I deliberately took the attack to make me fly and keep my distance from it.
As soon as I landed, Karen and Leo ran past me.
I hurriedly increased the lightning power to the maximum, then threw my sword and paralyzed the monster for a few seconds as my sword stabbed it.
Karen and Leo took the opportunity to attack.
With her big hammer, Karen hit the monster very hard, and targeted the monster's head. As for Leo, he moved here and there to attack from various directions.
I then slipped and pulled my sword out of the monster, then joined the fight with Leo and Karen.
As I was just starting to attack, I heard a muffled sound, and immediately turned to see Karen blocking the monster's attack to protect me.
I immediately moved away from there so that Karen could stop blocking the monster's big claws.
I then ran on the sloping river wall, then dared to jump on the monster and stab my sword into its back to paralyze it again.
"Nice support!"
Leo launched a series of punches after saying that.
"Dahlia!"
When I heard Karen's voice, I immediately pulled out my sword and jumped down, as soon as I saw Karen who jumped and launched her hammer around where I was before.
Karen's attack definitely broke the monster's bones until the monster screamed loudly.
The three of us launched combination attacks repeatedly and alternately, making the monster almost unable to move freely, and it was difficult to get a chance to counterattack.
But after a while, the monster started to get angry and roared loudly.
"It's going into the second phase!"
Hearing Leo's words, we started attacking faster to give more damage.
The monster suddenly ignored our attacks, and threw us away using its injured body.
Its aura soared, and made me feel uncomfortable. After its body quickly changed and became a humanoid form. But what surprised me was the wounds on its body that slowly healed, making our efforts seem useless.